INITIAL CONSULTATION AGREEMENT
Hourly Consultation — Application Process Review
1. PARTIES
Licensee:
Yueheng Gao (Steven Gao)
Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC), Licence No. R534273 — a Licensee in good standing of the
College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants
Licensed Paralegal, Law Society of Ontario, Licence No. P21984
Operating as: Nova Stage ImmigrationNova Stage Paralegal Services
1368 Ouellette Avenue, Suite 402, Windsor, Ontario N8X 1J9, Canada · steven@nova-stage.ca
Client: as identified in the signature block below and in the contact details submitted with this form.
2. PURPOSE OF THIS CONSULTATION
The Client has booked a scheduled consultation, to be conducted by video conference, for the service selected in section 3.
3. SERVICE SELECTED
(a) Immigration Consultation — advice on Canadian immigration or citizenship matters,
provided in the Licensee's capacity as an RCIC.
(b) Paralegal Consultation — advice within the authorized scope of practice of an Ontario
licensed paralegal, provided in the Licensee's capacity as a Law Society of Ontario licensee.
This is a separate practice under a separate regulator; it is not an immigration service.
(c) Application Process Review — review of how the Client has completed an
application form, online portal entry, or submission sequence, provided in the Licensee's capacity as an RCIC.
Booked duration: 1 hour. The scheduled date and time are those selected
by the Client on the booking page immediately following this Agreement, and are recorded in the booking confirmation
sent to the Client by email.
4. SCOPE — WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
This consultation does not include, and the Client shall not rely upon it as:
(a) verification of the truth, accuracy, or authenticity of any information, statement, or document provided by the Client;
(b) representation of the Client before IRCC, ESDC, any provincial nominee program, or any tribunal or court.
The Licensee will not be named as the Client's representative and will not file anything on the Client's behalf.
The Client prepares and submits their own application and remains solely responsible for it and for its outcome;
(c) any guarantee or prediction of the outcome of any application;
(d) any service not selected in section 3.
4.1 Additional limits specific to the Application Process Review
The review is limited to how the application has been completed: whether required fields have been
answered, whether answers have been entered in the correct place, and whether any required step in the submission
sequence has been missed.
The review does not extend to:
(i) the substantive content, sufficiency, or accuracy of the Client's supporting documents;
(ii) whether the Client's evidence supports the answers given;
(iii) whether the Client meets the eligibility requirements of the program applied for;
(iv) any assessment of the application as a whole.
The Licensee does not review the Client's supporting documents under this service.
The Client remains solely responsible for the truth and sufficiency of everything submitted.
5. CONDUCT OF THE CONSULTATION
The consultation is conducted by video conference at the scheduled time. Advice is given orally during the session.
Any written summary provided afterwards is a record of what was discussed and does not extend the scope in section 4.
Materials must be submitted in advance. The Client shall provide any material to be reviewed no later
than 24 hours before the scheduled time. Where materials are not received in advance, time spent reading
them during the session is billable session time.
6. FEES
| Service | Rate |
|---|
| Immigration Consultation | CAD $300 per hour |
| Paralegal Consultation | CAD $150 per hour |
| Application Process Review | CAD $300 per hour |
Minimum billing unit: 15 minutes.
Plus applicable HST (13% in Ontario).
GST/HST Registration No.: 721139806RT0001
Where the Client is a non-resident of Canada, HST may not apply; the invoice will reflect the applicable tax treatment.No HST applies to this service.
Payment is due in advance at the time of booking.
Credit toward future fees:
Fees paid for an Immigration Consultation or a Paralegal
Consultation are credited in full against the professional fees of a subsequent representation
agreement with the Licensee for the same matter.
Fees paid for an Application Process Review are
not credited against any other service.
If the session runs beyond the booked duration, additional time is billed in 15-minute units at the rate
above, and only with the Client's agreement given during the session. The Licensee will not continue past the booked time
without the Client's consent.
7. RESCHEDULING AND CANCELLATION
- Cancelled or rescheduled by the Client more than 24 hours before the scheduled time:
full refund or rebooking at no charge.
- Less than 24 hours before, or non-attendance: fee not refundable.
- Cancelled by the Licensee: full refund, or rebooking at the Client's option.
8. ACCURACY OF INFORMATION AND MISREPRESENTATION
The Client confirms that the information provided is true, complete, and accurate.
If, in the course of the consultation, the Licensee identifies information that may give rise to a risk of
misrepresentation within the meaning of section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Licensee
will bring it to the Client's attention and may decline to continue. Where the consultation is discontinued for this
reason, time already spent is billable at the rate in section 6 and the balance is refunded.
This applies to the Application Process Review as well. Although that service does not extend to the
Client's documents, the Licensee cannot disregard a matter of this kind that becomes apparent during the review.
9. ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Any service beyond the one selected in section 3, including representation, document preparation, eligibility assessment,
or review of supporting documents, requires a separate agreement
(CICC Retainer Agreement Regulation §5.2, §8).
10. CONFIDENTIALITY
The Licensee will hold all information and documents received from the Client in confidence and will not disclose them
to any third party except with the Client's consent or as required by law, by the College of Immigration and Citizenship
Consultants, or by the Law Society of Ontario.
11. RECORDING
Neither party may record the session without the other party's prior consent.
12. REGULATORY INFORMATION
For immigration services, the Licensee is regulated by the
College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC):
5500 North Service Road, Suite 1002, Burlington, Ontario L7L 6W6
Toll-free: 1-877-836-7543 · college-ic.ca
For paralegal services, the Licensee is regulated by the Law Society of Ontario: lso.ca
The Client may contact the applicable regulator with any concern or complaint regarding the Licensee's conduct.
If the Client is unable to contact the Licensee and has reason to believe the Licensee may be deceased, incapacitated,
or otherwise unable to fulfil their duties, the Client should contact the College.
13. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND SIGNATURES
The Client acknowledges having read and understood this Agreement, in particular sections 4 and 6, and confirms that the
scope of the service has been explained.
Signed for the Licensee: Yueheng Gao, RCIC #R534273. A countersigned copy of this Agreement will be emailed to the Client,
and the Licensee will retain a copy of both the Agreement and the sending confirmation.